In determining the law applicable to the relationships involving foreign elements, a number of specific mandatory provisions shall be taken into account. In addition to the conflict-of-laws rules, also the existence of the provisions that directly regulate legal relationships shall be considered. Overriding mandatory provisions as one of them represent a controversial issue of International Private Law. Obstacles arise at the very beginning when it comes to the right expression and purpose of the provisions, however, according to the prevailing opinion the latter could be defined as the protection of the public or state's interest.
They represent a special type of mandatory provisions that conceal a political charge – states safeguard public order through them. Their crucial feature is that they must be applied irrespective of the law designated in accordance with the general conflict-of-laws rules. This might lead to the application of the provisions which are neither a lex fori nor a lex causae and which are of crucial interest for another state. Due to the openness of the term and its vagueness, overriding mandatory provisions are hard to regulate on the legislative level, therefore, the legal doctrine and case law are of high importance.
The purpose of this Master Thesis is to address the overriding mandatory provisions from different aspects. As to the historical development of the concept, the key opinions of the legal doctrine in the 19th and 20th centuries are presented. Additionally, the fundamental characteristics, categories, their relationship to the public law, and conflicting opinions on the foundations of the concept are portrayed. Due to the lack of national regulation in Slovenia the concept is relevant from the European Law perspective. Therefore, regulation resulting from the Rome Convention on the law applicable to the contractual obligations, Rome I Regulation, and Rome II Regulation is presented. Together with the case law, the legislation helps us to solve at least some of the open questions.
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